I do appreciate the thought, and while I agree with most of what Dan wrote, in the end it's not the economics or politics which puts me off, it's the lawlessness. The lack of any accountability for blatantly criminal conduct. That's why I keep harping on about MF Global, because it's the most in-your-face example, but there are plenty of others. Too many to count actually.

This goes way beyond pump & dump, naked shorting, painting the tape, and so forth. This is just plain theft, and like they say in the Bronx, there's never just one cockroach.

So I'm going to just sit on the sidelines for a while - poke at the juniors a bit since they're relatively harmless (as opposed to say putting your life savings in government bonds) - but for the most part I'm out. Once the next shoe drops, and the next, and the one after that (like opening Imelda Marcos' closet) I may look around and see what's been thrown out with the trash. But until we start to see some real regulation and real accountability, I'm not playing in this sandbox anymore. Nope. I'm taking my toys and I'm going home because these guys don't play fair!

ebear

A well regulated Market, being necessary to the prosperity of a free State, the right of the people to own and trade shares, shall not be infringed.